Republicans Question Purpose Of Riley Trips

Secretary of Education Richard
W. Riley has always been popular on the speakers' circuit, but his busy
travel schedule has recently come under increased scrutiny by
Republicans in Congress.

With the 2000 election cycle in full swing, two key House
Republicans are asking whether some of Mr. Riley's appearances were
actually campaign stops that were improperly underwritten by the
federal government. Department of Education officials counter that the
secretary has only conducted business as usual, with no hint of
political motivation or impropriety.

As a member of the president's Cabinet, Mr. Riley is allowed to
participate in partisan and campaign activities, but must reimburse the
government for any travel-related expenses for such outings. He travels
on the government dime, however, when conducting official business.

In recent weeks, Mr. Riley, a former governor of South Carolina,
visited seven Southern states on an education bus tour, attended the
Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, and made several
appearances around the country to give speeches and visit schools,
usually accompanied by a local member of Congress.

The secretary typically attends about 100 events, including school
visits, every three months, said his senior counsel, Terry K. Peterson.
In June, July, and August, he attended about 120 events.

Rep. Bill Goodling, the Pennsylvania Republican who chairs the House
Education and the Workforce Committee, and Rep. Peter Hoekstra,
R-Mich., who chairs its Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations,
have asked if some of Mr. Riley's taxpayer-financed trips actually
equated to campaigning for Democrats. They have asked Mr. Riley to
produce, by September 14, travel documents and a breakdown of expenses
for all trips going back to January 1997 and detailed reports on trips
made this year.

"We understand the need for the secretary and other officials of the
Department of Education to engage in a certain amount of travel," the
two chairmen, who are frequent critics of the Education Department,
wrote in an Aug. 31 letter to the secretary. "However, by law,
taxpayers should only be subsidizing travel expenses required for the
conduct of official business—not expenses tied to
campaign-related activities."

Wrangling over such travel is not unusual, said Meredith McGehee, a
senior vice president with Common Cause, a political-watchdog
organization. She said she was not familiar with the particulars of the
Riley case, but added that Cabinet members traditionally have been used
by both parties for campaigning, "It's a pretty bipartisan problem,"Ms.
McGehee said.

On the Road

As secretary of education since 1993, Mr. Riley has often traveled
around the country to visit schools and attend education-related
events. Often, he is joined by local politicians and officials from
both parties who are interested in the education issue of the day and,
undoubtedly, want to share the ensuing publicity. On his 1999 and 2000
education bus tours, for instance, he was joined in several
destinations by governors and members of Congress from both the
Democratic and Republican parties.

Mr. Riley fields about 1,400 requests for about every 100 events
that he attends, Mr. Peterson said. When planning an event, the
Education Department always invites the local congressional
representatives and other politicians. But, Mr. Peterson added, because
of the Education Department's agenda, far more Democrats than
Republicans accept the invitations.

"We do it in a very impartial way, but it's awfully naive to think
that Republicans that just voted against his proposals on the Hill will
show up," Mr. Peterson said.

But Mr. Goodling and Mr. Hoekstra question two visits to the home
districts of Democratic representatives that were cited in a
Washington Post article last month. Reps. Michael P. Forbes,
D-N.Y., and Rush D. Holt, D-N.J., have been labeled as particularly
vulnerable in November's elections, and Mr. Riley has held school-
related events in both of their home districts this year.

Mr. Riley visited Mr. Holt's New Jersey district on two occasions in
April and June, for instance, to discuss class-size reduction and
President Clinton's school modernization proposals, as well as to hold
a town meeting with parents and school officials. Peter Yeager, Mr.
Holt's spokesman, said there was no campaigning at the event.

"I don't understand why it would be construed as that," Mr. Yeager
said. "These are issues that [Mr. Holt] has dealt with every day,
throughout his congressional term."

The one "official" campaign visit, Mr. Peterson said, was an
appearance at a breakfast for Rep. Bart Stupak, D- Mich., on July 6.
That day, the secretary and Rep. Stupak also visited a school in
Traverse City, Mich., to speak on class-size reduction and to release a
local analysis of class sizes. Mr. Stupak's campaign reimbursed the
Education Department for the campaign portions of the trip.

Mr. Stupak's spokesman, Bob Meissner, said that having the education
secretary at the event helped attract attention to the study. "We think
one of the major issues as we talk about budget and priorities is
classroom size," Mr. Meissner said. "We consider it a major benefit to
have the secretary of education come as we're unveiling the study."

Traditionally, Cabinet members are also called upon during a
presidential-election cycle to help their parties' national
candidates.

Mr. Riley, a longtime friend of Vice President Al Gore, plans to
help campaign for the Democratic nominee, Mr. Peterson said. The
secretary spent personal time campaigning for Mr. Gore during this
year's Iowa caucuses.

And it is Mr. Riley's nature to travel frequently, Mr. Peterson
added. "He really enjoys hearing about what works in education," Mr.
Peterson said, "and he really likes getting out and talking to
students, parents, and teachers."

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